Thursday, March 19, 2015

Jesus Falls A Second Time - Station 7

“We are mid-point in the journey,” the Priest tells us.
“What do we find here?” Shuffling along with this little group that follow the
stations—we look up. Jesus falls—again. Again? The priest continues, “This is
the lesson of this Seventh Station.”

When the Jerusalem Church put together the Stations there
were a multitude of points along the way where Jesus would fall. “So, the
Priest intones, “There are three fallings in the fourteen Stations to the
Cross.”

Organized religion has never been comfortable with failure
or apostasy or brokenness. Years ago Karl Menninger wrote a book called,
Whatever Became of Sin?

Yet, looking up it all begins to come back—the time we
failed. Or lost the job we had lusted for all our lives. Or stood by the grave
after 54 mostly good years. Or leaving the divorce court—tears streaming down
your face. Or to be told: “It’s ALS.” We thought we were big too fail or too
smart or strong or supposedly too good.

In an old novel, The Picture of Success, Phillip has lost
his job and cannot seem to find another. And he says: “’There’s something wrong
with all of us—you know that? I was thinking that the night of our party. We
only tell each other the good things, the things that set us up a little in our
own minds.’ He swallowed. ‘All the lousy stuff, the hard-luck items, we keep to
our selves; we’re ashamed or something them.’ He glanced away, moodiness in his
eyes. ‘You not only don’t talk about failure but you hope nobody will find out.
Now why the hell is that? It’s when you lose that you need your friends, not
when you’re on top. But nobody mentions losing, only winning. We all have to go
round looking as if everything is great.’”

Which brings me to these cross-less churches filled with
smiling, well-dressed folk. “Come casual,” their ads say. And so they shuffle
in wearing Birkenstocks or $185.00 Nikes or Ralph Lauren shirts—even their five
year olds whose hands they hold. They are mostly young and healthy and not
usually reminded that there is this Seventh station smack-dab in the middle of
the journey. But lest we mainliners get
to pious we don’t often hear a sermon or even a hymn about the dark side, the
shadow side. Yet—when we peer into the mirror and see our defeat, our failures,
the lines in our faces or our sin—we wonder: could this be me?

This Station says that in this second falling of the Lord
Jesus we are only halfway there. Strange gospel. We are not alone when we bite
the dust. Here Jesus meets us all.
Richard Rohr reminds us, “If God has not learned to draw straight lines
with crooked sticks, God is not going to be drawing very many lines at all.”

And looking up we know that if we follow this Jesus we
follow him through all the ruts as well as the sunny places. And whatever
happens, nothing will separate us from the love of God—no thing. And the old
promise that runs from Genesis to Revelation: “I will be with you” may be the
truest word of them all.

Follow Roger by Email

Follow Roger on Twitter

Connect with Roger on Facebook

Followers

Translate

Roger

About Me

Minister-writer who cares about the world and all God's children. I've Pastored six churches--served as Interim Pastor for seven other churches since my supposed retirement.I have written five books and a multitude of articles.